No Second Chance
by Fairady
Summary: A kunochi needed to be many things in order to survive, she needed to do many more in order to do more than just survive.


Disclaimer: I neither own nor make money off of the characters of Naruto. I'd be much too busy doing other things if I did. 

Warning: Em, things are implied.

Notes: This is the only fic in which I had no trouble making a summary. Yeah, Sakura has really grown on me as a character especially after the time skip.

No Second Chance  
by fairady

* * *

When Sakura entered the Academy her mother gave her a kunai.

The blade was slightly longer than usual and, while the tip remained sharp, the sides were dull. It was meant to be hidden in the tops of boots right next to the skin, or between the breasts of a woman. Having neither of these, Sakura knew that she couldn't use it, but she loved it anyway. It wasn't just a useless blade, it was her mother's confidence that Sakura would become a nin, that she would grow into a woman who could use it. A woman like her mother.

When Sakura became a Genin her mother gave her a headband.

It was the same one Sakura had _earned_ from the Academy, but it was her mother that made it special. The plate was taken off so that the cloth could be washed in water that smelled faintly of her mother's exotic perfume. It was dried in the sun while they both brushed and loosely plaited their hair. Her mother talked the whole time about past missions, and Sakura listened raptly. She'd never heard these stories before. Once dry, the plate had been reattached and her mother presented it to her saying this was how all the women in her family had become a kunoichi. A simple tradition that made kunoichi not just a word but something they were.

When Sakura decided to enter the Chuunin exams her mother gave her a new med kit.

It was a practical gift and she'd accepted it gratefully. It had bandages, antiseptics, threads, needles, common antidotes, a few more uncommon ones, some toiletries, and a small vial of perfume. Puzzled Sakura had asked about the vial. They'd spent the night in the garden talking about kunoichi tradition. Fighting and seducing, stealth and boldness. It was the same lesson drilled into all girls at the Academy, but her mother took it a step further. She explained how to actually do it.

How to kill just as ruthlessly and efficiently as any man, if not more, all while looking like the most harmless thing in the world. She explained the advantages and disadvantages of sneaking into and out of enemy territory versus just walking in and taking what she needed. She told her about the deadly game of flirting with the enemy, using every charm she had to throw them off their guard for a bit, just long enough to escape or kill. She told of how some things could easily be traded for a night in bed instead of blood and death. She told how she could use everything she had to her own advantage; a slip of skin, an innocent look, a hint of scent, soft lips, and a softer voice. Sakura learned that as a kunoichi her body was a powerful weapon.

When Sakura failed her mother took her to dinner, with Ino.

It was fun, Sakura hadn't realized how much she missed having her best friend. Their conversation was still barbed, but they only fought about Sasuke once. Once was all the chance they got. Her mother had demanded to know why they were fighting over a boy. Kunoichi didn't fight over men, men fought over kunoichi. Neither girl had an answer. Ino was forgiven, her mother wasn't a nin and thus didn't know about being a kunoichi, but Sakura was scolded over not having known better. Dinner ended with her mother informing both girls that they would be doing some extra training away from their cells.

The training wasn't as physical as what they were expecting, but that only seemed to make it harder. Always the lessons began with a lecture on a particular aspect of being kunoichi, and then would be the hours of practice until her mother was satisfied they'd both learned it. Clothes, poetry, seduction, perfumes, flowers, manners, acting, grace, make-up, shoes, fighting, reading, flirting, walking, subtlety, every single aspect of their lives were examined and turned into a lesson. Sakura was well into her training with Tsunade when her mother finally told the girls she was done teaching them. There was more to learn, but they could figure it out for themselves through trial and error.

When Sakura got her first solo mission her mother gave her a necklace.

It was an elegant but simple necklace with a carved stone pendant. Quite beautiful but Sakura didn't like wearing it because the stone always felt cold against her skin. No matter how long she wore it, it just never seemed to warm up. She took it with and, when it came time for her to retrieve what was needed, she wore it. Sakura walked through the building with a loose swing to her steps, she smiled coyly at the leering men, giggled as their hands touched her, and purred perversions into the ear of one particular man who took her into the room she needed to be in. Throughout it she felt the cold stone, sitting heavily against her chest allowing her to focus. She was out of the building in a matter of minutes, and well on her way back to the village before anyone noticed anything amiss. Sakura didn't take her necklace off until she was home and could throw up in the toilet.

When Sakura went on her first mission as a team medic her mother gave her a dozen vials of different perfumes.

Sakura only took one with her and ended up using it to confuse the senses of several hunting dogs their enemy had brought along. When she returned to the village she took Ino to the market, and they both spent a small fortune on several bottles of perfume. They bought scents that ranged from subtle hints of musk to harshly astringent scents of flowers. A month later Ino had come back from a mission with several broken ribs and laughed claiming it could have been worse. They both managed to beg a few books off of Kurenai, and had set about learning how to make their own perfumes.

When Sakura came back from an interrupted mission she took her mother to dinner.

Her mother had asked about Tsunade's health, and Sakura had asked about the weather. The waiter stepped up to the table and asked what the two fine kunoichi would like to eat.


End file.
